Latest News on Catalonia's Independence Referendum

MADRID (AP) - The Latest on the fallout after Catalonia's disputed independence referendum (all times local):

3:45 p.m.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans says there is a "general consensus that regional government of Catalonia has chosen to ignore the law when organizing the referendum."

Timmermans was referring to the disputed independence vote Sunday in Catalonia, which the Spanish government in Madrid says violates the constitution. Spanish police left over 900 voters and others injured as they tried to stop the vote, and say over 400 police were left with bruises.

In a statement Wednesday to the European parliament, Timmermans said, in the 28-nation bloc, "respect for the rule of law is not optional, it is fundamental."

Timmermans also said "it is fundamental that the constitution of every one of our member states are upheld and respected."

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3:25 p.m.

The European Commission is appealing for dialogue between the Spanish government in Madrid and Catalonia even if it says there is a "general consensus" that the northeastern region ignored Spanish law with its referendum.

EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans on Wednesday called for both sides to talk to one another. He told legislators in Brussels "all lines of communication must stay open. It's time to talk, to find a way out of the impasse working within the constitutional order of Spain."

The separatist-run regional government has called for the European Union to intervene and mediate the dispute, but Timmermans seemed to rule that out.

He says "this is an internal matter for Spain that has to be dealt with in line with the constitutional order of Spain."

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2:25 p.m.

The far-left party CUP says Catalonia's regional parliament will consider a declaration of independence from Spain on Monday.

CUP parliament member Mireia Boya says the Catalan government plans to present the results of last Sunday's disputed referendum on Monday, which will trigger a declaration of independence.

Provisional results of the referendum that the Spanish government considers illegal showed the "Yes" side winning 90 percent of the 2.3 million votes cast, which is less than half the region's electorate. There was no organized campaign for "No" for the referendum, which Spain's highest court had suspended and was marred by police raids to confiscate ballot boxes that injured hundreds of voters.

Boya says "Oct. 9 will be the session . to declare the independence of Catalonia."

CUP is not a part of the Catalan government, which is formed by two mainstream separatist parties.

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12:30 p.m.

German officials say they are hoping for a "de-escalation" of the situation in Spain, but insist the conflict over Catalonia's independence drive is a domestic Spanish matter.

Asked about the Spanish police crackdown Sunday on people trying to vote in Catalonia's independence referendum, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said "it's absolutely not my role to evaluation police operations in Spain."

Seibert told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday that "it's the role of every government to uphold the democratic order," noting that Spain's constitutional court had previously declared the referendum to be in breach of the country's constitution.

He said Germany wasn't seeking to mediate in the dispute between Madrid and the regional government in Barcelona.

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12:20 p.m.

Catalonia's regional government is mulling when to declare the region's independence from Spain in the wake of a disputed referendum that has triggered Spain's most serious national crisis in decades.

The region's pro-independence president, Carles Puigdemont, who has said an independence declaration will come in a few days, is due to deliver a speech later Wednesday.

Spain, which declared Sunday's referendum illegal and invalid, is bitterly opposed to any independence move. Spain's conservative government has said it will respond with "all necessary measures" to counter Catalan defiance, and is holding talks with opposition leaders to forge a consensus over what to do in response.

In a special national address Tuesday night, Spain's King Felipe VI said Catalan authorities had deliberately bent the law with "irresponsible conduct."

Spain's National Court on Wednesday said it will quiz two senior officers of Catalonia's regional police force and the leaders of two pro-Catalan independence civic groups who have been placed under investigation for sedition.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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